During the relay, which will be screened in more than 1500 cinemas across over 35 countries, Paterson will interview members of the cast and production team. A series of backstage films exploring the creation of the production will also be shown.

Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny will be screened live in cinemas across the world on 1 April 2015. Find your nearest cinema. The Season continues on 5 May with a live screening of The Royal Ballet’s La Fille mal gardée.

Kenneth MacMillan’s Royal Ballet production of Manon was relayed live to cinemas around the world on 16 October 2014.

The relay, presented by Darcey Bussell, featured a series of backstage films, including rehearsal footage and interviews with members of the cast and creative team.

If you missed the screening on the night, or just want to find out more about the ballet, here are the films again:

Members of the cast and creative team on the choreography and characters in Manon

‘There is a lot of slow movement but there is a lot of meaning in it,’ says Ricardo Cervera who plays Lescaut in the ballet. ‘You’re watching real art in motion, it’s not just choreography put to music, or music over choreography. It’s just completely married and very emotional to watch, as well as to perform.’

‘Manon is lucky that she has got this incredible man next to her, who is until the end trying to make her understand what life is about. He’s forgiving and he’s trying to keep her alive,’ says Marianela.

‘It’s not acting anymore, it’s quite real. It’s the desperation of Des Grieux who is still hoping that they will find a way through and they can live happily together,’ says Federico.

Watch Royal Ballet Principals Marianela Nuñez and Federico Bonelli rehearse the final act of Manon and talk about the journey of their characters through the ballet.

‘The structure of the three acts is like a 19th-century ballet but it breaks new ground,’ says Deborah MacMillan - the choreographer's wife - of the premiere of Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon in 1974. ‘He was dealing with flawed characters, human characters, not fairy tale characters. And that was tough at that time because ballet was still stuck in a classicism that wasn’t prepared to move forward.’

'Kenneth was an enormous film fan so would have been thrilled this was happening,' said the choreographer's wife, Deborah MacMillan.

'The cinema relays mean such a lot to us and it is amazing to see how they have grown,' said Director of The Royal Ballet Kevin O'Hare. 'It is a particular pleasure opening with Manon as it is the 40th anniversary of Kenneth MacMillan's production, and it is a production that has really shaped The Royal Ballet.'

The new Season will feature 11 Royal Opera House productions broadcast to more than 1,400 cinemas in 30 countries worldwide.

Following Manon, the next live relay of the Season will see Verdi’s early tragic opera I due Foscari, simulcast on 27 October. The Royal Opera production stars Plácido Domingo and is conducted by Music Director of The Royal Opera Antonio Pappano.

The relay, which was presented by Darcey Bussell, included a series backstage films featuring rehearsal footage and interviews with members of the cast and creative team. If you missed out on the night, or want to find out more about the production, here they are again:

Christopher based his second full-length work for The Royal Ballet on Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, a drama that follows the destruction of a family through jealousy. ‘Bringing a new Shakespeare to life through dance is an exciting prospect,’ says Christopher. ‘It is a very complex story, but at the heart of it is profound, inexplicable jealousy that strikes Leontes and causes him to do some devastating acts.’

The ballet reunites the creative team behind Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. ‘We spent an amazing three days forensically taking it apart, ending up with a synopsis that was incredibly detailed, right down to the timings,’ says composer Joby Talbot.

In Act Two the action moves to Bohemia where the lost princess Perdita, living as a shepherdess, falls in love with Prince Florizel. ‘Florizel is the son of King Polixenes and he doesn’t want his son marrying a commoner,’ explains Sarah Lamb, who created the role of Perdita. ‘Our union, and our quest to get that union blessed, is what brings everyone back together and what heals everyone.’

The music, designs and choreography vividly depict the contrasting worlds of the dreary, troubled court of Sicilia and the vibrant and cheerful countryside of Bohemia. ‘We designed Sicilia first, and Bohemia then became the antithesis of that,’ says designer Bob Crowley. ‘It is full of colour and pattern, and has a real exuberance compared to the austerity of the court of Leontes.’

Composer Joby Talbot discusses the music in The Winter's Tale:

A key element ofThe Winter’s Tale is the contrast between the two worlds explored in the ballet and composer Joby Talbot has created a score that depicts these drastically different moods, ranging from the troubled tension of Act One, to the joyful setting of Bohemia (which includes an on-stage folk band) to the emotional conclusion in Act Three.

'I’m incredibly proud of it,’ says Joby of the music. ‘Act One has this musical language which is quite taut and troubled. In Act Two we want an absolute change - a lot of beautiful dancing and beautiful music. We’re back in Sicilia for Act Three, which is very emotional and the music is freer.’

The relay, which was presented by Bryn Terfel, included backstage films featuring rehearsal footage and interviews with the cast and creative team. In case you missed them, or just want to find out more about the production, here they are again.

An Introduction

‘Don Giovanni is a story about a man who has seduced 2,065 women,’ says director Kasper Holten. ‘On the morning of one of his conquests, he gets stopped by the father of a woman he has just seduced and, in the ensuing fight, kills him. It is both a tragedy and a comedy - a farce that needs to move fast and be funny.’

Kasper Holten, conductor Nicola Luisotti and set designer Es Devlin discuss Mozart’s classic tragicomedy and the challenges in staging it, while members of the cast introduce their character in the opera.

Don Giovanni’s women and their music

Kasper Holten, Nicola Luisotti and singers Malin Byström, Véronique Gens and Elizabeth Watts introduce the three main female characters in Don Giovanni - Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, Zerlina - as well as the different music that portrays their emotions.

‘These characters that Da Ponte etched in his libretto have all our frailties and everything we come across in our lives,’ says Elizabeth Watts, who sings the role of Zerlina, ‘and so they are still just as real today as they were when they were written.’

The production, which was originally screened live in May 2012, starred Royal Ballet Principals Steven McRae and Roberta Marquez.

‘La Fille mal gardée is a real family ballet,’ says Steven. ‘Although it’s technically challenging, there’s comedy and it’s very light-hearted. It’s a real Company piece and you have a lot of fun on stage.’

La Fille mal gardée was the final full-length staged ballet by Frederick Ashton. Inspired by his love of the Suffolk countryside, Ashton created a romantic comedy that was emphatically English, despite its Gallic title. Find out more about Frederick Ashton.

The ballet follows country beauty Lise who falls in love with young farmer Colas, much to the distaste of her mother Simone who has other ideas for her daughter's future. A charming story that showcases virtuosic choreography, including everything from ribbons to clogs to maypoles, it was a huge success on its premiere in 1960 and has become a true classic.

Ballet lovers will be treated to a diverse all-Ashton programme at cinemas tonight (15 July) with screenings of The Royal Ballet Dances Frederick Ashton taking place across the UK, Germany and Austria.

Ranging from La Valse, which depicts the ballroom elegance of 19th-century imperial Vienna, to Monotones I and II, one of Ashton’s most modernist creations, the programme reflects the brilliance and breadth of his choreography.

Watch Edward Watson, Marianela Nuñez and Federico Bonelli in rehearsal for Monotones I and II. In the recording made for cinema Principal Nehemiah Kish replaced Federico Bonelli due to injury

The programme closes with one of Ashton’s most passionate creations Marguerite and Armand, danced by Sergei Polunin and Former Royal Ballet Principal and Artistic Director of English National Ballet Tamara Rojo, marking Tamara's final Royal Ballet performance.